Tavern Ventures
by AutumnMobile12
Summary: We laughed and fought and cried together. We've been through hell, but we carried each other through it. If one of us falls, the rest help him or her up. And if we all fall, we go down fighting and burn together. A series of one-shots and drabbles featuring the Levi Squad.
1. Levi - Comrade

_Comrade_

The throbbing in his head was the kind that made him want to put a bullet through it and to hell with what came next. It was like there were knives in his head, ruthlessly carving out his eyes and stabbing through his skull. "Shit." Levi groaned into his pillow, tearing at his hair with shaking hands. "Shit, shit, shit. Holy, god dammit…."

He didn't remember making it back to the barracks, he thought. Or leaving that tavern for that matter. Or really much of anything that happened last night. Crushing the heel of his hand into his eyes, he rolled groggily onto his side, propping himself up on one elbow. His hand was still shaking, he noticed, and he was going to need a quart-give or take-of some very strong tea to wash down that sour taste in his mouth.

Except the thought of eating and drinking induced a vile feeling in his stomach that made him want to curl up into a tight ball and shut out the world. He flinched at the light when he dared opening his cold, black eyes, blinking rapidly and squinting at the room.

This wasn't the Survey Corps barracks.

A fresh wave of pain washed over him and the room spun violently as he forced himself upright. The room was small and smelled strongly of its more consistent occupant, someone he assumed had been displaced last night. Levi frowned and held up his hand, critically observing the shirt he was wearing was definitely not his. Not with how the sleeves trailed well over his hands and the unacceptable ink and coffee stains dotting the cuffs.

He was in Karanes, he remembered, rising unsteadily to his feet. Where at in Karanes, though, he couldn't fathom. The floorboards were old and creaked under his bare feet when he crossed to the window. Pulling back the thin curtain, he winced at the light but confirmed he was still in the city and hadn't made it back to the barracks last night. Another pang of nausea teased his stomach, but nothing came of it after he took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

It had been four days since the Scouting Legion had returned here after its most recent expedition beyond the Wall, and six since he lost Isabel and Farlan. Six days. He let the curtain fall back, dimming the sunlight, and stepped toward the door. Only six days, and yet it only felt like hours the memory was so fresh. Levi hissed a foul word as he stumbled into the doorframe, clapping a hand over his forehead and groaning. A strong sense of nausea coiled in his gut and threatened to press against the back of his throat, but a couple steady breaths calmed the feeling before he found it in him to raise his head.

Several moments passed before his eyes adjusted to the morning light streaming in through the windows, but when they did he saw that four Scouts seated at a small table were watching him. Levi tensed, but he only saw mild concern and maybe a little surprise in their expressions. "And the Wall Sina rogue lives!" A dark-haired man shouted with a laugh, which made him wince at the volume and put a hand over his head again.

Across the room, he heard a small clatter and flicked his eyes to the right where two civilian women were standing in the kitchen side of the main room. The younger of the two offered an empathetic smile, but her senior was standing over a large cookpot and hadn't seemed to notice him.

"How's your head?" The lone female Scout asked, leaning backward in her seat to see around her much taller companions.

Levi said nothing, casting a suspicious look at all of them. He didn't recognize anyone, though with his headache it was pretty damned impossible to think straight. If he had seen them before, it might have been during the expedition. Not that it mattered if they were familiar. What mattered is why he was here and what did these people know about it. The front door was across the room, he thought, his black eyes rolling indolently as he examined the room. _And there's a window there...and there. One in the room behind me, too._

"See, this is what happens when you pick random vagrants up off the street." The eldest of the group said, almost sneering.

"Hey, come on, Bozard, he's had a rough night, that's all." Admonished the third man in the party, who then turned to address Levi with a cheerful smile, kicking the empty chair beside him out from under the table. "Have a seat, why don't you?"

Levi glanced around the room, again surveying possible escape routes, then, prepared to run if the situation turned ugly, sat down between the the blond man and the dark one. "Who are you people?" He automatically cleared his throat, coughing slightly as his voice came out ragged and harsher than he expected, the rasping whisper of a man who hadn't spoken in years. The elder of the two civilian women approached the table with a mug of what he hoped was water and set it before him, patting his shoulder with a compassionate smile. Slowly, Levi took a sip and nodded his thanks. It was water, cold and sweet and a welcome relief to his dry throat. Personally, he preferred tea, but he could consider this an adequate substitute.

"I'm Ral." The auburn-haired woman announced in answer to his question. "Petra Ral. Those two are Gunther and Oruo, but I don't think I got your surnames."

"Schultz. And he's Bozard." The dark-haired one introduced them with a nod.

"And I'm Eld Jinn." The blond man smiled, then gestured to the elder woman standing at the table. "This here's my mother and my girl Karoline."

"Nice to meet you." Frau Jinn said, nodding politely. The younger woman, Karoline, came to stand beside her but said nothing, quietly drying her hands with an old towel.

"Likewise." The Scout woman-Petra-answered, "It's very kind of you to let us all stay here last night. Even if it's a little unorthodox. I hope you don't mind my asking, but does your family always let random strangers spend the night in your home?"

"Ah, that's my old man's philosophy for you." Eld said, leaning back in his chair. "He always told me every beggar's an honest man and every whore's a lady 'cause they've enough dirt in their faces without the rest of humanity shoving them into it. He was always letting all kinds of folk into the house whether they were soldiers or thieves or hunters. Mom never complained and just set an extra plate at the table. You could never tell who we were gonna find on our sofa the next morning." Frau Jinn gave a comfortable smile yet said nothing when the others turned to her in surprise.

Levi blinked twice but took another drink of water in favor of speaking.

"No kidding." Gunther nodded. "What happened to your father?"

"Same thing that happens to all of us eventually." Was the subdued answer as Eld took on a more serious countenance. "Figure doing what he did best kinda keeps him with us in a way. Speaking of, your color's looking a little better now, friend. Not so much like the entire Scouting Legion trampled you on its way out the South Gate."

Levi glared at him, but the expression hurt too much to maintain for very long and left him pinching the bridge of his nose to quell the pulsing. "Anyone want to tell me how I got here?"

It was Petra who spoke. "I was leaving that pub by the outer gate and I found you collapsed in the alley."

"Right, and Miss Ral is a small woman, so it would be hard for her to carry you around without dragging you," Gunther continued her narrative. "So she asked Oruo and I to help her out as we were leaving the tavern."

"And may I say, for such a small man, you are incredibly heavy." Oruo shook his head in disbelief.

"They were going to bring you back to the barracks out of town." Eld continued, nodding sagely. "Except you dumped a pretty hefty load on the ground, which reminds me, your uniform's hanging up outside." Levi twitched. "You looked awful, so I offered everyone a place to stay and here we all are."

Clearly, this wasn't the first time this had happened, but Levi just nodded and was just about to stand and show himself out the door with a snarky, 'Well, this has been a truly fascinating morning, but I think I'll be on my way.' when Eld's mother suddenly clunked a bowl right in front of him. He jumped, whipping his head around to face the woman and gritting his teeth as the Jinn family's kitchen spiraled. _Son of a bitch, that hurts! What the hell was she doing?_ Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of what looked like some kind of oatmeal, then cast a questioning look at their host.

"What's with that face?" Frau Jinn asked, laughing incredulously. "You look as though you've never had a home-cooked meal in your life! Don't you fret about throwing up now. I spent my entire marriage perfecting a good breakfast for hungover young men like you."

Levi leaned forward a fraction and sniffed at the bowl, somewhat relieved when the mild smell didn't trigger another queasy feeling. Granted, he felt his stomach twinge at the thought of eating, but whatever it was actually smelled pretty good.

"Dig in, everyone." Karoline smiled gently, coming to the table with two more bowls of the same meal and placing them in front of the other Scouts.

Oruo cast the woman an odd glance, but Petra thanked her and scooted her chair forward, inhaling the vapor rising up from her bowl. "Mm, that smells good!"

Gunther rose to his feet as Karoline circled the table with the other bowl and a handful of spoons. "Here, let me help you with that, miss."

"Sit down." She laughed, putting a hand on his shoulder and gently pushing him back into his seat. "You're a guest."

She could not, however, stop Eld from standing to help his mother with a heavy, cast iron pot full of the same porridge substance. Some bread and cheese was set out, along with a pitcher of water and several mismatched cups. Actually, Levi noted, none of the dishes matched now that he thought about it. Some were made of tin, others ceramic, and two of the cups and a bowl were carved from wood. Even the silverware alternated between wood and metal.

"Go ahead, eat up." Karoline told him as she placed a knife for the bread on the cutting board.

Feeling awkward with the whole situation, Levi picked up his old, tarnished spoon and took a small bite. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten something that hadn't tasted like shit. Decent food was impossible to come by in the slums and while military rations were a significant step up, they certainly weren't the best available fare. He himself wasn't particularly skilled at cooking and Isabel and Farlan….he swallowed and let the thought wither.

"Damn, you ladies weren't kidding." Gunther complimented, waving a spoon at their hosts. "Top notch, right there."

"Aw, _danke!_" Frau Jinn smiled. "There's plenty to go around, so help yourself to seconds if you like."

Petra immediately shoveled another ladle of oatmeal into her bowl and reached across the table for a few slices of bread and cheese, much to her comrades' dismay. Levi wondered how quickly she'd put away her first serving but shrugged off her questionable table manners and asked, "So why did the rest of you stay here?" Before anyone answered, he quickly took another bite, realizing how hungry he was. He might as well finish the bowl before leaving. It was a free meal, after all. No harm in passing that up. Just as long as he could keep it down, he amended as he felt his stomach twist.

"Didn't feel like heading back out to the barracks." Oruo answered around a slice of cheese.

"I thought this was your home city." Petra pointed out through a full mouth, frowning at him. "Couldn't you stay with family or a friend maybe?"

"It's always so damn noisy in my brother's house you can't get a _minute_ of peace. Paid 'em all a visit yesterday and cleared out while the going was good." He waved a dismissive hand. "What about you, Ral? I _know_ your parents live here and you're an only child."

The woman swallowed and turned away. "I haven't been on very good terms with them since I joined the Scouts. Not that I'm unwelcome back home, it's just different."

"Yeah, same here." Gunther reached for the water pitcher. "They talk to you the same as they always did, but right behind their eyes, you can see them begging you to transfer to the Garrison. Or the MPs if you qualify. Am I right?"

"Yes."

A brief silence fell over the table, aside from quiet chewing. Eld reached for a slice of bread and handed a wedge of cheese to a hesitant Petra. "Well, you're always welcome here." Karoline said, seating herself between the two. Her….Levi frowned as he wasn't entirely sure what Eld was to her. He called her 'his girl', but that could mean any number of things. The man wrapped an arm around her slender shoulders and planted a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Thank you for the offer." Petra answered her. "But I wouldn't want to impose. I feel as though we've already overstayed our welcome."

Levi said nothing and reached for a bread slice, tearing off a sliver of the crust and nibbling at it in small bites.

"So, do you have a family name?" Petra asked him suddenly. "It's a little presumptuous calling you by your first name, so-"

"Levi's fine."

"Oh." She blinked, looking befuddled. "Okay, then, if you're all right with that."

"I've got one more question. Why didn't you just leave me in that alleyway?"

"Well," Petra began. "If you'd been an MP or just some old vagrant, I'd have just liberated whatever money you hadn't used to drown yourself and left you there for the rats to chew on." The straightforwardness of her declaration, or perhaps the way she delivered it with a sweet and sincere smile, disturbed him a little. "But I saw you were a Scout and I don't like abandoning comrades, whether they're in the field or at home."

"Exactly." Eld agreed with a grin. "If we can't get along inside the Walls, how can we expect to work together outside? You're one of us now, like it or not."

Levi scowled. "Ow…."

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: So this is a series of drabbles and oneshots involving the original Levi Squad. They're not in any particular order, though a few may be companion pieces to one another.

A note on Karoline: I didn't think she had a name, but if she does, please let me know and I'll gladly change it.

Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan is owned by Hajime Isayama.


	2. Levi - Faces

_Faces_

Levi found the routine and monotonous habits of the military unbearably stifling. Order, rules, procedure, methods, policy, all of it had been foreign to him before coming here. In the Survey Corps, everyone's face was the same: grim, emotionless, and dutifully taking in the commander's words without question. The underworld may not have been much, but at least then he'd been able to move more freely without having to answer to anyone.

He felt a bead of sweat run between his eyes and squinted. The afternoon sun was glaring down on the entire assembly and not even the slightest wisp of a breeze could deter the heat. Personally, he'd stopped listening to what Shadis was hollering about. As long as it wasn't about the next expedition, it was too damn hot to focus on anything else.

_If we aren't dismissed soon, I think I might actually pass out._ He thought as the commander stepped past him. Not exactly the impression he wanted to leave with the Scouting Legion. He had a reputation to uphold after all, and coming off as a wuss in hot weather didn't exactly meet his standards.

Discreetly reaching up to wipe away the perspiration sliding past his eye, Levi flinched as he felt a hand on his left shoulder. Recognizing Petra's auburn hair, he was about to hiss a warning when the woman suddenly crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Commander Shadis' turned back.

"The hell are you doing?"

She shrugged and changed her face, pulling at the corners of her mouth and waggling her tongue between her lips. Levi shook his head and faced forward, frowning as Petra snapped to attention again. From the corner of his eye, he saw Shadis had turned back in their direction, glaring as though he sensed what his subordinate had been up to. Seeing nothing, he continued on with his speech.

And Petra with her faces.

"You trying to get yourself killed or something?"

"If it means getting out of this heat, then absolutely." She answered without missing a beat.

Well, she had a point there. It was uncomfortable standing out here like this, especially since he was painfully aware of sweat gathering in his boots and under his arms. He was going to have to wash out his uniform once it cooled down.

"I watched a man pass out from heatstroke during roll call once." Remarked the Scout beside him.

"What's your point?"

"My point is….if the commander's going to keep us in the sweltering weather like this, we might as well take our minds off it or die trying." He said bluntly and pulled his nose up to imitate a pig snout. "Besides, how long do you think we can keep this up?"

Levi cast him a despairing look, then noticed Gunther several rows down elbowing his neighbor and joining in, sticking his thumbs in his ears and waving his fingers. Shadis looked back. Everyone shot back into position, the corners of their mouths quirking slightly, but on the other side of the battalion, Eld jumped out of position to make a fish face. Behind him, Oruo was doing something with his eyes, but he was too far away for Levi to see what exactly. Shadis looked their way. Stone faces. Petra and the Scouts on their side resumed pulling at their faces, sticking their tongues out, puffing their cheeks, and whatever else came to mind. Even some of the squad leaders standing across from them, like Hange, were joining in, others just snickering to themselves.

_Did I die in the field and this is my eternal punishment?_ That would certainly explain the hellish weather they were having. Shadis snapped his head around, a raging glare locked on all of them.

"Oh, shit!"

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: Because, really? Who hasn't thought about doing this?

Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin not owned by me but Hagime Isayama.


	3. Eren - Home

_Home_

"Hey, everyone, we're home!"

Eren raised his head in surprise as Gunther and Eld came striding into the old mess hall, each of them burdened with a full pack they seemed to have trouble carrying. The pair had left for Trost early that morning on a supply run and had been gone all day.

"Welcome back." Petra looked up from mending a tear in her uniform. "Did you get everything?"

Eld promptly dumped his bulging shoulder bag onto the table and began pulling out its contents. "One newspaper, a loaf of bread, bandages, about a quart of milk, one box of tea, and….let's see, oh, Petra, here's that spool of thread you asked for."

"I found some while you were out." She answered, holding up her nearly repaired coat. "But thanks anyway."

"No problem. A little extra thread never hurt anyone." Eld returned his hand to the bag, looking up when Levi came down the stairs. "Oh, Captain, I got you that cleaning stuff you wanted. You know, that weird powder you can't touch with your bare hands."

Levi picked up the brown jar Eld set out, opening the lid a fraction and sniffing at its contents. "Yeah, that's the stuff. Thanks, that brown spot in the upstairs floor just isn't coming up."

"Hey, watch it with that shit. Remember what you did last year?" Oruo warned as he approached the table and picked up the newspaper, spreading it out by one of the flickering candles. "Oh, look, Reeves Company's going bankrupt."

Levi set the jar down with a thud and picked up the box of tea leaves, nodding in satisfaction. "Any trouble on the road?"

Eld shook his head. "Nope. The rain last night left a lot of mud, but it was mostly dried out by this afternoon."

Gunther removed an apple from his pack and was about to take a bite when Eld snatched it back from him with a warning glance. Shrugging, the dark-haired smiled. "What about things back here? I see Eren finally finished clearing out the weeds in the yard. What's it been, kid, five days?"

Eren fidgeted uncomfortably, hiding his grass-stained hands under the table.

"Yeah, it's actually starting to feel like home instead of old, useless ruins." Oruo remarked, flipping a page and running his finger down a column in the newspaper. "Suppose the captain's obsessive-compulsion is good for some things. Don't look at me like that, Levi, you smell like disinfectant and today you scrubbed your hands raw while scouring out the kitchen."

This time, the captain hid his hands under the table, shooting a poisonous glare at his comrade, but Oruo had turned back to his newspaper to ignore him. Eren laughed as Levi grumbled something to himself. "Well, I think it's nice you all call this place home even if it's only temporary."

"Home is where the shit goes." Levi said bluntly.

Eren flinched. "Uh….sure?"

Gunther narrowed his eyes, looking just as confused. "I think what he meant is home is where the heart is."

"No, what I meant was home is where we make it."

"That's the same thing, Levi." Petra laughed.

"That's how I say it."

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: That's probably how he would say it.

I don't think Eren will be showing up for too many of these. The reason he's included in this one is technically speaking he was a member of the original Levi Squad, but mostly, I wanted an outside party observing the main five.

Standard disclaimers apply.


	4. Eld - Forgiveness

_Forgiveness_

"So how'd it go?" Eld asked as he stepped into the house, halting abruptly on the doorstep when he found his commanding officer on his hands and knees, furiously scrubbing the floorboards. "That bad, huh? Y'know, if you keep doing that, you're going to wear those down to nothing."

Levi didn't give any indication he heard him, plunged the old brush into the overflowing bucket, and resumed scrubbing. There was water and soap suds all across the floor, soaking into his comrade's trousers. He always did one of three things when he was mad, Eld had noticed over the years: clean, train, or drink.

Narrowing it down had been easy. The MP training hall had been vacant and Levi had been avoiding alcohol for some time now. The Survey Corps didn't have any official living quarters in the interior, except those who'd been granted a place to live through 'meritorious service'. "This is a nice house." Eld remarked, leaning against the doorframe. "You want to tell me what happened?"

This time, his captain right himself and whipped the scrub brush into the bucket with a loud 'splash'. "I beat up a _kid_ today!"

Eld flinched at his tone but said nothing. The easiest thing to do was leave and come back later when he calmed down, only that did even more damage as he tended to mull over the issue for hours and work himself into unmanageable, pissed off state. No, it was better to settle it now than handle some explosives later.

"You don't normally let something like this bother you." He remarked, raising an eyebrow. "You did what you had to. Isn't that what you normally say?"

Levi didn't answer.

"This about Kenny?"

From the way his friend stiffened, he knew he'd either hit the nail on the head or smashed a finger in bringing up that name. Either way, he didn't answer and retrieved the brush, quietly scrubbing the floor again.

Eld sighed and reached down to pull his boots off. "I thought that might've been it." Padding across the floor, he reached into the old bucket, found a sodden rag, and joined the older man in scouring the floor.

"It isn't exactly something you forget."

"So you have a few unresolved childhood issues and regret beating the Jaeger kid. I can't say I blame you for-"

"No, that's not the problem."

Eld looked up in surprise.

"After it was over, I asked him if he hated me for it. He didn't." Levi ran a hand through his hair. "And the little shit meant it, too. I could tell. Who the hell says something like that? Whatever the reasoning, no one is _that_ understanding!"

It took him several moments to puzzle through this one before he started laughing, "You've come a long way since we met, my friend. But you still have a lot to learn about how kind humans can be. It may not seem like it, but we can be a pretty forgiving race when we want."

"Well, _forgive_ me if I never saw that."

"And now you have."

Levi paused and closed his eyes, water dripping off the ends of his hair from when he'd run his hand through it. "I need to be alone right now."

Seeing his work was done, Eld nodded in understanding and rose, "Well, catch you later, I'm gonna see if I can find a pub that doesn't clean me out after one shot."

His friend snorted, "Good luck with that, but I would think finding a place to stay would be your first priority since we're currently abstaining from Military Police hospitality."

Eld grinned over his shoulder on his way out. "I thought I would just crash here tonight."

Levi threw a rag at him.

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: I like to write Eld as the most understanding one in the squad. When watching the part when Eren accidentally transformed, he seemed to be the only one asking (demanding) for an explanation rather than jumping straight to accusing like the others were.

Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin is owned by Hajime Isayama.


	5. Petra - Score

_Score_

Petra remembered her first time seeing the South Gate, rearing up, massive and imposing, before the Scouting Legion casting its grim shadow upon the city. An older Scout had ruffled her hair and grinned, telling her not to worry and that their enemy wasn't that big. Petra lowered her eyes, her hand reaching up to fiddle with the end of her braid. That man had died during that expedition, in the forest where his gear failed and a titan's jaws snapped like the steel traps she'd seen Dauper hunters use. It had scared her so much she'd pissed her pants and nearly died herself, but another Scout, a greenhorn like her, saved her from sharing the same fate.

It had been almost two months since the last expedition. An unusually short respite, but the relative success of the new formation had garnered more support than usual. Civilian or government support, as long as they had one, their future as a military branch was secure. That was another thing that old Scout told her. She often found herself wishing she'd learned his name.

Looking around now, she saw many faces unfamiliar to her. New recruits trembling in apprehension, seasoned soldiers staring grim-faced at their destination. Which was she now, she wondered. She'd survived several expeditions since she was fifteen, so she was pretty far from a rookie. Yet she didn't feel like an expert, like that veteran had been. Deep down, she knew she was just as nervous as everyone else. Hell, Levi was much more of a pro than her, and this was only his second expedition. Where did that kind of strength come from?

Ahead, she spotted him and Herr Schultz in front of her. She had been stationed in Addario's squad with Schultz, and Levi was in Smith's. Jinn and Bozard were in the unit behind them, under Squad Leader Trask's command. They would separate from each other, which disappointed her. She'd only met them all a couple months ago, yet she wished they'd had more time together. They were good people, even with their flaws.

Silently, she sent Maria a prayer for good fortune, then called ahead, "Levi! Schultz!"

They looked back at her.

"Let's kill every last titan we come across, okay?"

"Hey, the point of the operation is to _avoid_ the titan's, dummy!" Bozard's voice called from somewhere behind her.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean they're going to avoid us!" Jinn called back.

"Exactly!" Petra cried. "I say we give it our all and come home together!" _Because I want to keep getting to know all of you._ She silently added. It was unrealistic, she knew. It was unlikely all of them would come back alive. She'd only killed one titan, and she'd almost paid the price with her life.

"Sounds good to me!" Schultz shouted back, raising a fist.

Levi narrowed his eyes at her. "How do you intend to take down _one_ of those things, never mind all of them?"

Stubbornly crossing her arms, she retorted, "I'll cut the feet if you cut the neck, and don't you dare die in the process, stupid!"

Several riders around her turned their head in surprise, probably shocked at her brazen declaration, but she didn't care. Levi glared back at her for almost a minute, then allowed what might have been an amused smile and faced forward again. "Same to you, Ral."

Petra grinned, then steeled her nerves as Commander Shadis' roaring voice echoed back to them and the old gate began to rise.

_Here we go._

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: I was going to post this one tomorrow, but then I was bored, so here it is now.

Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin is owned by Hajime Isayama.


	6. Oruo - Pastime

_Pastime_

The water was freezing. His feet had gone numb standing in the current like this and icy needles were stabbing his legs, yet he waited patiently, training his eyes on the frothing, white water less than three feet away. A little too far to his left, a salmon flew past and and splashed into the river behind him. _Lucky bastard._ Oruo frowned.

On the other side of the river, Petra was likewise occupied with the incoming fish, standing with her shoulders hunched and her hands poised like talons. Levi was crouching on a rock outcropping between them, oddly reminding him of a cat preparing to pounce. Another salmon leaped from the water, closer this time, but as soon as his hands closed around it, the little beast twisted and squirmed free again. "Shit!"

"Gotcha! Whooo!" He heard Petra cry out. Holding her wriggling prize aloft, the young woman scampered nimbly across the river and deposited it into the wicker basket they were keeping on the bank. "Ah, Rose, I can't feel my feet!"

"How full is the basket, Pet?" Oruo called.

"Pretty full." She answered, flopping onto the grass. "How 'bout you two each catch one more and we'll call it a day?"

Oruo shrugged, "Fine by me." Then lashed his hands out and seized the salmon, nearly losing his balance, but he managed to keep a firm hold on the fish. "Hah! There we go. All right, Captain, one more and we can go home." Almost as soon as he said it, Levi whipped one hand out and seized an incoming salmon and stood, eyeing him with a bored expression. "Show off."

"Can we get out of the river now? I'm freezing my ass off."

"Nobody forced you to come with." Oruo answered, leading the way back across the river. "Damn, it's cold. You could've stayed behind and kept an eye on Eren like you're supposed to be doing. For all we know, he's a titan right now and is wreaking havoc and mayhem all across Wall Rose."

Levi said nothing.

"Admit it. You've gone a little stir crazy being stuck in that castle."

"I'm sure Eren's behaving himself." Petra offered when they reached her on the bank and deposited their catch. "Levi, you carry the basket, okay."

"Why me?"

"Cause I'm a lady and Oruo's an old man."

Their commanding officer crossed his arms and frowned. "So you're a lady and Oruo's an old man only when it's convenient?"

"You betcha. Hop to it, rogue."

"You know if you don't, she'll just whine the whole way home." Oruo pointed out, pulling his boots back on.

"I don't see you volunteering."

"I might throw my back out."

Levi scowled in frustration and hefted the basket over his shoulders. "Yeah, the next time I see you being picked up by a titan, I'm just gonna watch."

"No, you're not." Petra teased, scooping up her boots and running on ahead.

Oruo laughed.

"What's funny?" Levi scowled.

"Nothing, I was just thinking this kinda reminds me of when I used to take my kids fishing."

The captain glared at him. "You really want to compare us to your children when I'm carrying two kilograms of dead fish over my shoulder?"

"No need to be so defensive, Levi, I'm just feeling a little nostalgia."

He turned his head away at the scolding, keeping his sullen eyes on the ground. Oruo cracked an indulgent smile and impulsively ruffled his captain's black hair. Immediately, Levi recoiled and pulled away, "You do that again and I'll take your hand off!" He snarled.

Just like Samuel. He always hated it when I did that. Oruo paused though, returning his hand to his pocket and staring forlornly at the ground. Although if I were to guess, it was probably me Samuel hated.

To his left, Petra and Levi were arguing about something again, though he didn't know what about this time. It just made him think of Anya and her brother. Their constant bickering that always made the little one, Miro, start crying. Anya would be almost the same age as Petra now, he realized with a jolt. Had it really been so long? The thought of visiting them flitted across his mind but was discarded immediately. He wasn't welcome back there nor would any of them be particularly happy to see him.

_I wonder if things would have turned out different if I'd just been a father and not a Scout._

Suddenly, Petra appeared at his right, staring up at him, but before he could ask what she wanted, the woman grasped his wrist and planted the palm of his hand over her copper hair. "You're a strange one." Oruo shook his head. She grinned, then narrowed her eyes pointedly at Levi. He glared back at her, then sighed in defeat and pointed at his head. Oruo frowned. "You sure that's not too demeaning for you?"

"At this point, this is as close to family as I'm going to get."

"Don't be a glass half-empty, Levi. You're still young." He brought his hand down on his head. "Don't end up like me, all right?"

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: I don't know why they were fishing. I just didn't want to write them sitting around doing nothing. Anyway, this is the replacement to the previous Chapter Six; I like this one better, but the old one might be rewritten and re-posted.

Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin is owned by Hajime Isayama.


	7. Levi - Goodbyes

_Goodbyes_

Funerals were practically unheard of in the Underground. Cremations were banned by the Capital's restrictive ordinances. Burials were almost impossible, and even when the few grieving families managed to carve a grave out of the rocky earth, even fewer could afford the simple luxury of a marker. Children who succumbed to starvation and winter illness, men murdered for food or money, women like his own mother who died birthing their children, all of them disappeared, swallowed by the earth without ever truly leaving it.

Or seeing the light.

So when the Scouting Legion and their families gathered to burn their dead, Levi felt genuinely surprised they even cared. That anyone held value in a loved one's corpse. What did it matter? What good was an empty shell? Isabel and Farlan weren't among the burning bodies in the massive fire before him. They were still out there, rotting away in the grass plains, and that suited him just fine.

He was fine with that.

A sudden gust a wind swept over the assembly of soldiers, extinguishing dozens of candles in its wake, including the one in his hands. A thin, forlorn trail of smoke stemmed from the wick, trailing toward the night sky and disappearing into darkness. He watched it go, apathetic and uncaring, then turned as he heard the heartbroken sobs of a woman.

She was standing several paces away, a civilian in a long, grey dress with a navy blue shawl. In her hands was a folded, bloodstained cloak with their unmistakable sigil. Beside her, a soldier wrapped an arm around her trembling shoulders. For a brief moment, he wondered who it was she lost, then turned away. It didn't matter to him. She was just a stranger. Why should he care if her child or husband or sister had died a brutal death outside their sanctuary.

Prison.

The word hit him suddenly, but he dismissed it with a scowl. He closed his eyes. It didn't matter. It didn't matter Isabel and Farlan's bodies would never be retrieved. That they would continue to rot deep in in the titan lands. He still had his memories of them. It was fine. He was okay with that. His jaw clenched as he tuned out the mournful cries and sobs pressing in around him. _I shouldn't have come. _There was no place for him here. He had no bodies to burn.

And no one but him would miss them even if he had.

Levi closed his eyes. He could've just held a memorial for them by himself somewhere. He should've done that, not participate in this miserable crowd. He had no place here.

He jumped suddenly as a hand suddenly clasped his, and he stared in alarm. It was that woman he'd met a few days ago, the subdued Scout who wore her auburn hair in a long braid. He frowned as he tried remembering her name…._Renata….Radka….no, Petra. Petra Ral._

The young woman's cheeks were dry, yet he saw indisputable traces of pain behind her amber eyes. Wordlessly, she held her candle over his, touching the wicks together until both flared up, flickering in the dark. Then she slipped her hand into the crook of his arm and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Molly Antonis. Adam Taylor. Roger Kelly. And Claus Dunn."

Members of her regiment? She was under Captain Addario's command if he remembered right. They'd suffered minor casualties in comparison to his completed annihilated squad. Levi swallowed, unsure of how to respond. Was he supposed to answer her? If so, how? Petra glanced up at him. "And yours? I know Flagon and Sairam are gone now, but I never learned the names of the other two."

For a ghost of an instant, he wanted to snap at her. To lash out and shove her away, snarling it was none of her damn business who they were. They were nothing to her, just as her dead friends meant nothing to him. He didn't care.

He didn't care.

"Isabel. Isabel Magnolia. And Farlan Church."

Petra lowered her eyes, and within moments he heard her sniffling. His right hand gripped a wavering candle, his left hung uselessly at his side. What was he supposed to do? Pat her head like used to do for Isabel? Say something to cheer her up? Not likely, he hardly knew her. Why was she even here? What reason did she have to seek him of all people out? To offer her condolences? If anything, that poor woman holding the Survey cloak needed comfort. Not him. Nor did he really want her pity. She'd lost people, too, after all-he stopped.

He understood now.

It wasn't that she was sympathetic or wanting any form of solace. Those names weren't just members in her squad. He'd lost two. She'd lost four.

And she was just as alone as he was.

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: I posted this in honor of No Regrets finally airing. If you having seen it yet, go check it out.

I didn't write it into the content, but I imagined Hange singing Deidre's Lament by Heather Alexander. It's a sad and beautiful song, and I think it suits this series very well, so check it out if you're interested.

I don't particularly consider this a Levi x Petra moment here; I just think of it as two comrades taking a moment to mourn together. I wanted to try and fit Eld, Gunther, and Oruo in here two, but anyway I thought about writing it made it too busy and took away the simplicity I was aiming for.

Besides that, I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading.

Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin is owned by Hajime Isayama.


	8. Levi - Domestic

_Domestic_

Something was bugging him.

When Petra suggested sharing a room for the winter, Levi hadn't thought anything of it. If anything, it was practical. The rent cost was split between them, a household of two was a less likely target for thieves than a single person living alone, not to mention (though he would never say it out loud) he didn't mind extra company until the Scouting expeditions resumed in the spring. Despite what others thought, he didn't especially value his solitary nature. It was a sensible arrangement, no matter what their gossiping and mildly intrusive neighbors thought.

And still, something was bugging him.

The Winged Sister was packed today, he observed. If it were any other day, he'd have slunk out the back door to wander the snowy streets of Shiganshina until nightfall, but that wasn't an option right now. Levi swallowed. Crowds like this made him nervous. An instinct he'd nurtured since birth reminded him that too many people in one place presented huge risks, ranging from poisoned water to a knife in his back. Levi closed his eyes. _Calm down._

He'd gotten the water himself and he was sitting with his back to a corner, right where he could see the door, so everything was fine. He twitched irritably as a nearby drunk let out a raucous, deafening laugh. Petra had assured him this boarding house was a good place, even if it doubled as a tavern. "I know the proprietor here," She'd told him. "He's a good man."

He didn't know why she offered to let him stay with her, perhaps because she was worried he might off himself. _Ridiculous._ He swallowed and crushed a hand into his brow, watching the tavern's rowdy clientele with a bored yet cautious eye. Admittedly, this hadn't been the best year he'd ever lived, or even a good year for that matter, but he had a handle on things. He wasn't going to kill himself. Or commit any other kind of self-harm. Well, excluding his alcoholism, so he supposed he could understand her concern, but that shouldn't have been her problem. _I'm not her brother or her husband or anyone in her family._ She needn't have worried.

She was right, though. The landlord was a decent, older gentleman she seemed to be on good terms with. He'd looked him up and down with a critical eye when Petra introduced them, then grinned a knowing smile at her. "Hey, it's not what you think!"

This whole situation was making him uneasy, and he didn't know why. It wasn't the part about living with someone else, particularly a woman. He couldn't remember an extended period of time when he _had_ lived alone, so he knew that wasn't the issue. Twisting his head, Levi fixed his gaze on the window and the snowy streets of Shiganshina. Up until the year before, he'd only seen glimpses of snow and had never really considered it fell everywhere on the surface, not just in little patches where the darkness gave way to the sky. It was such an odd revelation, and he wondered why he'd never given it any thought. It made sense now that he knew.

Hearing footsteps hurrying toward him, he turned around. The landlord's grandson was weaving his way toward him through the crowd, a small child wearing a scarf over his blond hair and a deceptively feminine apron that almost teased an amused smile out of Levi whenever he saw it. He raised an eyebrow as the kid stopped at his table, fixing him with a frantic, blue-eyed stare. "I know you're on break, but could you give me a hand in the kitchen? The dishes are piling so fast I can't keep up with them."

Levi sighed and drained his glass before standing. Unlike the boy, he had no trouble navigating the press of people, snapping at more than half a dozen of them to, "Move it!" The kid was hot on his heels when they made it to the back door behind the counter. The tavern's kitchen was hot and stifling and twice as noisy as the main room if one could believe it. Pots and pans clanged together in a horrible ruckus as the two cooks shouting back and forth, one of them arguing with a serving girl about a customer's order. No wonder this poor kid was at his wit's end. If this chaos didn't do him in, that gigantic stack of crockery that looked like it was about to topple over surely would.

"Sorry." The boy apologized, eyes on the flagstones. "There's just so many."

"No kidding. Why didn't you ask for help sooner?" He reached into the bottom of the wash basin and yanked out the plug, draining the grimy water. "Come on. We'll sorting out the cleaner plates from the dirtier ones so we don't contaminate the water so quickly."

"Right!"

_There is nothing to worry about, so why the hell have I been so damn nervous lately._ It was maddening. In all the years he'd been alive, this was the time he should've been the least nervous. He was out of the Underground, for goodness sake! _Last year, Farlan and I were trying to plot out the robbery of a warehouse and trying to stop Isabel from folding paper airplanes out of the plans. Not to mention, we were practically squatting in that hovel and-_Then it hit him.

It was the stability!

The revelation astonished him so much that he nearly dropped the stack of plates in his arms and stared dumbstruck at the floor. _I'm living in a room I'm paying rent for. I have a job and I'm making friends. I can't remember the last time I was actually concerned about finding something to eat. I've stayed in one place for a full two weeks and everything's clean and no one's tried to kill me yet._

"Sir?" The landlord's grandson stared up at him. "Are you all right?"

He'd spent an entire lifetime sleeping with one eye open and a knife in his hand, doing whatever it took to survive another hour in that black abyss, struggling to see the day where he could finally get out. Levi felt the corner of his mouth twitch somewhat, but he clenched his jaw and turned to the monumental pile of dishes.

"Yeah, kid. I'm perfectly fine."

_I made it out._

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: I wonder if he ever had a weird epiphany like this.

I've been stuck in a bit of writer's block with these, so some feedback would be very much appreciated. Pretty please? Anyone?

Happy Holidays!

We all know who wrote Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin. It wasn't me. Standard disclaimers apply, everyone.


	9. Gunther - Useless

_Useless_

His arm had been broken in the expedition.

Gunther grimaced as he stumbled over a knot in the road, jostling the the useless limb. He owed his life to Eld this time, who'd severed one of the cables of his gear to knock him out of the way of a lunging titan. Unfortunately, the momentum had sent him crashing into the nearest tree and resulted in the compound fracture now plaguing him. He was in so much shock at surviving the incident, he hadn't even noticed the break until he'd seen the blood on his hand and seeping through his uniform. The field medics had been forced to cut his sleeve open to reset the bone and bind it.

Eld, on the other hand, hadn't been so lucky, now lying in the back of a supply wagon as the column slowly made its way across the fields of Wall Maria to Trost. Gunther hadn't seen what happened to him in the chaos, only found the man unconscious at the base of another tree. And Eld himself had no memory of the crash either. Though with a gash that big spanning the left side of his head, it was a wonder he'd ever woken up again, let alone grin up at Petra, Levi, Oruo, and himself, inviting them all back to Karanese for dinner.

"Crazy bastard." Oruo had stated. "How about we make it back to Shiganshina before having that discussion? Don't count chickens before they hatch as they say."

Once making it back to the South City, and enduring the scorn of its people, Gunther had chosen to make the remainder of the journey home on foot, relinquishing his horse to a comrade with a wounded leg. Shiganshina was a few hours behind them now, and the sky was turning a dark purple streaked with gold as the sun was setting. A rather ominous sky, he observed but decided not to point it out to his comrades. "How's Eld?"

Petra raised her head from tending to their fallen comrade. "Still asleep."

"I see you're taking him up on his offer." Gunther smiled knowingly. "Since you didn't part ways with us in the city."

"I'm just being supportive of an injured friend. And I happen to like his family's cooking." Petra had proved in the early months of their friendship she was an awful cook. She messed up even field rations, which literally only required pouring a cup of boiling water into a packet of powder and letting it sit for a couple minutes. "And don't tease me about not being able to cook, Gunther. It's not like you're any better at it."

"Yes, but I have the excuse of being a man. Cooking and cleaning is a predominantly female role."

"Explain Levi then."

Gunther laughed at the sour glare their friend sent back to them. "How about I answer that when my head's not in danger? Anyway, how about-"

"_Turn back!_" A raw-throated scream cut him off, sending knives into his heart. He whirled around in time to see a rider wearing a green cloak race by them on a frenzied horse. The animal was squealing in terror, the white corners of its rolling eyes visible even at the dangerous speed the rider was driving it at. "_Turn back now! Back to Shiganshina!_"

Gunther widened his eyes in astonishment. That was the Thorns of Protection sigil on his uniform, not the Wings of Freedom. What was a Garrison soldier from the South City doing here? He swallowed a lump in his throat and glanced around at the Scouts surrounding them. Dread and confusion had come over everyone's face as they craned their necks to follow the desperate soldier as he surged toward the front of the column, stopping before Commander Shadis and nearly collapsing to the ground when he dismounted.

Barely able to manage a salute, the Garrison soldier wheezed a message none of them could hear and sank to his knees. Gunther pictured a series of worst case scenarios his mind, but he blotted them out, telling himself not to worry. Those thoughts were irrational, not to mention unrealistic, yet he could tell from everyone's faces they were thinking something similar. Even Levi looked rattled, his pale face even more ashen than usual. Oruo approached the wagon, glanced around at all of them, then turned back the way they'd come. Everyone else followed his gaze, but there was nothing to suggest anything was amiss. No tendrils of smoke rising toward the heavens, no sounds of conflict. All Gunther could see was the river winding across the peaceful grasslands of Wall Maria.

Yet a cold pit of dread had settled into his gut, and no optimistic muttering from a nearby soldier could quell it. "It's gotta be nothing, right?" The trembling woman asked, looking hopeful. "It's nothing. The man's just out of his mind, that's all."

"A man that frightened doesn't raise a hue and a cry over nothing, girl." Oruo said gravely.

Petra climbed out of the supply wagon, landing nimbly on the dirt road and clenching her fists as they all waited for the verdict ahead. It came quickly, and Gunther felt a knife twist when he heard Commander Shadis shouting down the line, "_All units, prepare to return to Shiganshina!_"

"What?" Gunther swallowed again.

"_The situation is dire! Wall Maria's outer gate has been smashed open by a monster titan! The city is overrun! The wounded and medical teams are to continue on to Trost as planned! All other able-bodied soldiers will return to South District! All officers, to me!"_

"Impossible!" Petra whispered, her face becoming a ghastly pale shade. "No, that's not possible, they couldn't have. That Wall has-"

"Petra!" Oruo snapped his fingers in front of her amber eyes, successfully bringing her back to awareness. "Calm down and focus."

"Sorry." She cleared her throat and composed herself, taking a deep breath. "Right, first things first, we'll have to locate what's left of our squad. Gunther, since Captain Addario…." She faltered, then Gunther remember his right arm hanging limp in a crude, makeshift sling. "No. I suppose you'll be going back to Trost."

Part him wanted to argue with her, to cut away the bandages like they were nothing and clench his fist, to return to the fight for humanity no matter how much the thought of facing another titan so soon sickened him. But he could barely move his thumb or little finger or anything in between without shards of glass stabbing him all the way up to his shoulder. He couldn't go back to the southernmost outlier district, not without being a hindrance to the others. All he could do was watch as their wounded men who could still walk returned their mounts.

Oruo nodded an uncomfortable, wordless goodbye and raced off to find the remainder of his squad and Captain Fairbairn. Then Levi turned away in search of Smith. Petra stayed where she was, unsure of where to report. Their squad leader, Addario, had been an unresponsive wreck ever since they returned to the Walls, shaking erratically, muttering about blood on his hands, and not even recognizing his own son when the fighting was over.

"Where should I go?" She asked of him. "Should I just find another officer for instructions?"

"I'm sure Shadis will direct the Addario Scouts to another brigade shortly." Gunther assured her.

"That's absolutely right!" A new voice announced and Squad Leader Hange crossed in front of them, astride her brown gelding. "Addario's troops are with me. Schultz, Ral-oop, looks like it's just Ral. How many were left in your squadron?"

Gunther made a quick count in his head. "There are thirty-seven of us total. Eleven are currently incapacitated, and eight were confirmed, so that leaves eighteen of us."

"Excellent!" Hange clapped her hands together with a maddened smile, then drove her heels into his horse's flanks. "Fall in! I'm assuming command of all Scouts under Captain Addario!"

"That man is either seriously sadistic or completely insane." Petra remarked, as the remnants of their regiment began to gather. "You'll look after Eld, right?"

He nodded. "I'll tell him you're sorry, but you're taking a rain check on that meal."

"Sounds good." The woman smiled, then disappeared into the crowd, calling her goodbyes over her shoulder.

Then Gunther turned south, squinting into the distance as though trying to see the abominable giants lumbering toward them. Gritting his teeth in anger, he kicked a stray rock and sent it rolling across the turf. _I should be going back with them!_ _Damn it!_

If only his arm….

He shook his head. He wasn't arrogant enough to believe they wouldn't survive just because he wasn't there, but if they didn't come back…. _Damn it all. _But there was nothing he could do but watch as his comrades and friends made their way back into the hellhole from which they'd come.

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: Wow, this is the longest Venture I've written since the first one. Hope you enjoyed it. I always wondered what these poor guys were thinking when they heard about Shiganshina, coming back all battered like that earlier that same day.

Also, I'm trying to keep true to Hange's ambiguous gender, so I go back and forth with pronouns.

Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan is owned by Hajime Isayama.


	10. Oruo - Mapmaker

_Mapmaker_

From the craggy ridge some Scout long ago had called Maria's Spine, he could just see the vague outline of a faraway mountain range and its most prominent peak, the Titan's Bane. Between here and there, was a great stretch of land known as the Plague Moors, but the Scouting Legion rarely ventured there. It was too flat with barely a tree in sight, and not at all suitable for vertical combat, but it had provided an excellent opportunity to attempt Smith's long distance scouting formation.

Oruo had crossed it a few times before, and even climbed the Bane once, though that was many years ago. Maybe his third or fourth expedition, at least two years after he'd enlisted in the Survey Corps. The rugged trail up the mountain had taken nearly two days to scale, even on horseback, but upon reaching the highest point they could manage, the entire Legion could clearly see the white Walls over four hundred kilometers away. The journey had taken nearly two weeks, at the cost of one hundred and seven four lives, but Commander Dvorak led them home triumphant and achieved a decade of hope for the human race.

What lay beyond the mountain range was unknown, though most agreed it was most likely forest and grasslands, maybe a river here and there. After surveying the wide spread of land before him a moment longer, Oruo knelt on the ground and unfolded a battered piece of parchment covered in markings. Three circles to represent the Walled Nation lay in the center, the single winding line of the River Prosperity ran through it north to south, and in all directions was a wide array of landmarks and terrain. The vast snowy wasteland to the north, dense forest to the east, rolling hills in the west, and open prairie giving way to gigantic mountains in the south.

"Hey, that's pretty neat." Someone said over his shoulder. "Did you draw that?

Oruo scowled in annoyance. "Aren't you supposed to be on watch?"

Eld laughed and stepped forward, obediently staring into the distance. "If there were titans out there, I think we'd see them hours before they arrived."

Silently, Oruo agreed with him. With land as flat as the moor, a titan would stick out like a black dot on a white horse's rump. Sighing in resignation, he removed a pen and compass from his pack, then began measuring the distance between their current location and Shiganshina, as if it had somehow changed since the last time he'd done so.

"I'm confused." Eld said, glancing down at him. "You claim otherwise whenever someone points out that you're old, yet you need glasses to read?"

Oruo glared at him. "Just because I'm not old doesn't mean I'm not a little past my prime."

The younger man grinned. "Whatever helps you sleep at night. So is this a hobby of yours, drawing maps?"

"I'm one of the cartographers in Captain Trask's regiment. I map out the land we cover." _Though I've been in this position for so long, it's mostly copying and adding nonessential details at this point._ He added sourly to himself.

"That must be fun." Eld stated. "You know, in a 'I hope I don't get eaten' sort of way. How long have you been doing this?"

Oruo shrugged. "Lost count. Since I joined the Corps, I guess."

"Wow. And what's that one?" He pointed.

"Huh?" The elder Scout followed the man's gaze to another even more battered and scarred map folded up at his side. "Oh, that's nothing."

"May I see?"

_What's the harm?_ "Sure."

Gingerly unfolding the chart as it was handed to him, Eld frowned at its contents. "Oh, I was expecting land, but this doesn't look like-hold on….Orion….Scorpio, Pegasus….Andromeda…. These are constellations from the old stories! You sketch sky maps!"

"Yeah." Oruo admitted. "That's more of a hobby, though. No one really seems to think stars are that useful."

Eld shrugged. "I can see where they're coming from. A map of the land makes sense, but one of the sky? That just seems silly."

"Hey, you'd be surprised. Stars aren't like clouds, you know. Aside from slightly changing positions during the seasons, they're relatively constant. Take this one for example." He stood and pointed at a specific cluster on the page.

"Looks like a scoop."

"Exactly. This is Ursa Major, the Great Bear. And this star here," Oruo shifted his finger. "Always points north, no matter what time of the year it is."

"Whoa, seriously?" Eld folded his arms. "Man, imagine if humanity could make use of that. Since titans are rarely active during the night and all."

"I thought of that once, too. Human eyes may be limited by the dark, but on a clear night, it's possible to navigate the Outer Territory." It was a fool's thinking perhaps. While the advantages were worth considering, a plan like this would undoubtedly have its drawbacks: unexpected storms blocking the stars, the possibility of a nocturnal Aberrant pursuing them and not being seen until the last minute, the risks were endless. Every tactic they tried had its own set of flaws and the odds in the field were always stacked against them. Otherwise, the journey to the Titan's Bane would be effortless. Oruo folded the map and tucked it back into his pack. "I've tried bringing it up this idea a few times to different officers, but it never went anywhere, so I've more or less-"

Eld turned to him suddenly, "Does Captain Hange know you do this?"

_What?_ "Not that I'm aware."

"Bring it up to him then." He suggested. "Who knows? You may actually be onto something there, and Hange's one of the few officers I can think of who'd be willing to at least hear you out. Maybe Smith would, too, but definitely Hange."

"You're serious?"

Eld nodded. "Of course. If he catches wind of anything even remotely revolutionary, he leaps at the chance. So I say give it a shot. What's the harm, right?"

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: I picture astronomy as something that may have been forgotten by humanity, or even banned by the government in this universe.

Not very holiday-oriented, but it's been a few days since my last update. Nonetheless, Happy Holidays.

And a thanks to mabver for reviewing.

Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin is owned by Hajime Isayama.


	11. Levi - Beginning

_Beginning_

The year 850 came silently and without a remarkable entrance. At least as far as his kitchen was concerned. He sat at the table with his head resting on his folded arms, staring bleakly at a single, lit candle and a cup of tea gone cold. The rim was chipped and the saucer didn't match, but he excused this on account it was a gift from a friend. A fallen friend, actually.

Levi blinked slowly. Well, lethargically. He'd been up all night, unable to sleep and sleeping only an hour or so when he did. As to the origin of his wakefulness, he had a few guesses, each one making less sense than the previous one. This had happened once or twice before, and he hoped it wasn't about to become a problem. As if the thought of expeditions and titans wasn't enough he had to throw insomnia into the mix. He'd spent the evening staring at his ceiling, walking around the house, scrubbing the floor, and now trying a bland herbal tea Hange had recommended to him a week ago.

The others in his squad had gone their separate ways for the new year, making up for lost time with their families. As they left one by one, they had invited him to come along, but he declined. He was loathe to intrude on their private lives, not to mention Gunther's parents disliked him on account of his manner and upbringing and after spending one Christmas in the Bozard home, he'd decided that year he'd rather put a bullet through his head than endure that madness again. When Eld asked if he wanted to stay with him for New Year's, he almost agreed, then changed his mind, lying that he felt sick and didn't want to spread it to his family. Of every member of the Levi Squad, Eld's home was, beyond doubt, the most stable and welcoming. It almost felt wrong intruding on that, however welcome he was. As for Petra, she'd lingered at his house longer than the others, delaying her journey to Karanes as much as she could. In the days before she left, she danced around a particularly topic when they spoke, then dismissed it whenever he called her out. Of course, it was only after she'd left he realized she was uncomfortable about facing her parents and had wanted him to go home with her.

_Moron._ He berated himself, opening and closing his eyes again. Well, he hoped it worked out for her. None of them had ever met her parents, and any suggestion of doing so were always deflected by their sole female comrade.

Sighing, he reached for the cup and took a sip of the cold tea. In retrospect, maybe it had been a bad idea to spend New Year's alone, especially in his empty house. The old framework creaked as the wind blew outside and beneath his feet was the black abyss of the Underground District. It wasn't as though he had business here in Stohess. No one had business at this time of night. What had he been thinking? _Moron. _He repeated.

Levi stood, dumped out the old tea in the sink, and washed the cup. There was no point brooding. He glanced at the clock. It was late, but he left now, it was possible he could make it to Karanes by tomorrow afternoon. _Or should I try to get some sleep and wait until morning?_ No, if he waited, he would probably meet Oruo, Petra, and Gunther on the road if they hadn't stopped to spend New Year's Day with Eld's family. Although, traveling all night would be dangerous, even if he took the main road. And even if he made it safely to Karanes, he'd probably crash on Eld's sofa and not move for another twelve hours.

He sighed, narrowing his eyes in indecision. _Oh, to hell with it. It's not as if I have anything better to do._ He grabbed his cloak and blew out the candle. For all he knew, this would be the last New Year he spent with them. Locking up the house took less than a minute, saddling Cendre took another five, and he expected the trouble with the MPs at the city gate would take half an hour.

But as he led the black horse through the empty streets, he glanced up at the stars. Nothing had changed. He looked back at the house. It was the same as it had been the night before. Cendre snorted and licked his hand, just as she always did. Aside from the faint sound of celebration in individual homes, it was just another night.

Levi almost smiled.

The year 850 came silently and without a remarkable entrance.

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: Don't worry, Levi, it's about to turn really crazy.

Happy 2015, ya'll.

Standard disclaimers apply.


	12. Eld - Technique

_Technique_

"I just don't see the point." Eren muttered, kicking a pebble and sending it skittering across the floor.

He spent quite a bit of his time sulking, Eld had noticed. Sure, he snapped out of it rather quickly when someone spoke to him, participating whole-heartedly in the conversation. But most of the time, Eren kept to himself, rarely speaking unless someone initiated the conversation. It reminded him a little of Levi, except Levi's silence was born out of mistrust and hostility. If anything, Eren was more shy, and maybe a little daunted at being surrounded by senior soldiers. Not to mention senior soldiers with orders to kill him if the situation took a turn down a titan maw.

"Don't see a point to what?" Eld asked, keeping his attention on the fight before them. "The hand-to-hand combat training? What's wrong with it?"

Petra and Levi were circling each other like two scavenging birds eyeing the same piece of carrion, stepping primly across the stone floor, faces impassive and giving no indication of their next attack. Watching carefully, Eld saw an opening appear briefly in his female comrade's defense, but the rogue didn't take it, most likely biding his time and wearing out her patience. It was better to coax a rise out of Petra rather than rush at her. Her attacks tended to be more effective when she was cornered and desperate.

"It's not worth the time and energy." Eren blurted. "A few kicks and punches don't mean a thing to-"

"You know, Eren, not everything is about offing the titans." Eld pointed out with a smile. "And when you've been doing this as long as we have, you eventually learn you need to have a little fun once in a while. And sometimes, more often than we care to admit, fun entails a good, honest attempt to give Levi a well-deserved butt-kicking. I get it, though. You hate them just as much as the next Scout, but-"

The kid jumped in surprise, a look of horror spreading across his face. "Holy Sina!"

Hearing someone crash to the floor, Eld winced and turned to face the fight again and found Petra lying flat on her back, groaning in pain and maybe frustration. "Damn!" He called, slapping his knee. "Petra lost to _Levi_? No! How can that be?"

Up went the woman's hand, saluting with a long, middle finger, then she pushed herself onto her elbow and scowled at them. "I don't see you faring any better, Eld. Go on, have at him! Let's see what happens?" Levi planted his boot on her head, forcing her back into the stone floor. "Ow, ow, ow! Levi, that hurts! Ow! Get off! Get off already!"

"Who said I was finished with you?"

"I'm down. I yield. Whatever the hell you want me to say." Petra mumbled past the sole of his boot, sounding more annoyed than in actual pain. She folded her arms and crossed one leg over the other. "Let me up, you freak. Ow! Stop that! This just isn't polite, you know. Ugh, I hate you!"

Eld shook his head and laughed, "Levi, knock it off. She's had enough."

"Have any of you ever been able to defeat him?" Eren asked.

"Who? Levi?" Eld shrugged. "Petra broke his nose once, and, given sufficient motivation, all four of us have been able to bring him down. Not that it's by any means easy, and by the end, it usually requires three of us sitting on him, but it's possible. This one time, Mike and the Commander-"

"Eren!" Levi called, interrupting their conversation. "You're up!"

Eld stifled a laugh as Eren went white as a sheet. "Sir?"

Now seated several meters away, Petra paused in her attempts to rub a boot print out of her cheek, an intrigued look coming into her eyes. "Interesting. Humanity's strongest against humanity's savior. Not that it'll affect the outcome any, but nonetheless."

Eren sent her a glance that might've been a plea for help or a display of sheer terror, but Eld didn't care. He wound a hand back and slapped the new recruit between his shoulders, driving him forward. "Go on, kid. And godspeed."

There was no reply, though Eren did send him one final pleading glance before he stepped toward Levi as a condemned man would approach the hangman's noose. Levi remained in a casual stance, fixing Eren with an indifferent stare, although he did frown as the kid shifted into an unusual fighting position. He seemed to place all his weight in one leg, bending it slightly, and extended the other behind him. Almost as though he were preparing to charge, yet the stance seemed more defensive than combative given he held his fists before his head as if to fend off an attack. Eld tipped his head. _He looks like he's inviting an attack rather than rushing at his opponent._

Levi must've reached the same conclusion, for when Eld shouted, "Go!" their captain launched himself forward. Eren grit his teeth and braced himself. What happened afterward was so fast Eld almost missed it. One moment, both soldiers were on their feet, then Levi was down for an instant before he somehow brought Eren with him, then he leapt into a crouch and the new recruit suddenly had Levi's knife in his face.

"Oh, my God!" Petra shouted, bringing her hand to her mouth as her eyes widened in astonishment.

"What just happened?" Eld rose to his feet, trying to process the image in his mind and sense of what he'd seen. Levi had tried punching Eren, but he missed-no, Eren had _dodged_. He avoided the blow, but managed to grab hold the captain's wrist. The rest had happened on the floor when Eren knocked the older man's feet out from under him with a swift and powerful kick that sent him crashing to the floor. Levi sprang back into a crouch via backward flip, then swung a leg around and tripped Eren, and finally held a knife over the bridge of his nose for good measure. Petra turned to him in disbelief, then focused on the pair in the arena.

Eren was still ghostly pale and breathing hard, but Levi stared down at him in a gaze so intense Eld feared he was going to kill the cadet. "You mind telling me how and where you learned that technique?" He asked in a cold voice.

"I-It's just something I picked up from a friend when we were in training." Eren answered in a shaking voice, holding his hands protectively over his face. "She said her father taught her how to fight, but that's all I know. She wasn't very talkative about it, but she showed me a few moves."

Levi was quiet, narrowing his eyes in scrutiny, then backed off, flipping the knife harmlessly around in his hands. "Would you mind showing me how you did it?"

"What?"

"I thought the question was clear." Levi glared down at him. "I want you to show me how you did it."

Petra sprang to her feet in a single, fluid motion and ran toward them. "Make that both of us."

Eld raised his hand with a grin, "Yeah, same here. And I'll be sure to let Gunther and Oruo in on it, too."

"It's nothing special!" Eren protested, looking embarrassed. "It's literally one hundred ways to seriously cripple a person."

"Then you'd better get started." Petra raised her clenched fists above her head in an attempt to copy the kid's earlier stance. "Like this?"

Eren hesitated, then climbed back to his feet and began carefully, "No, not quite. What you need to do is-"

Eld raised an eyebrow as Levi turned and made his way back to him, concealing his knife once again before taking a seat on the floor. He hid the limp pretty well, he'd give him that. "You didn't give him the speech about the possibility of opponents having hidden weapons. Isn't that why you have your knife with you?"

Levi didn't answer right away, a little more occupied with removing his boot and examining the rapidly swelling bruise. He swore, muttering to himself and gingerly touching the red skin. "Rose, it feels like he broke my ankle, the little shit."

"I thought he almost had you for a moment there." Eld turned away to hide his smile and bit his lip to keep from laughing. "Are you getting old?"

"Shut up. That took me by surprise." He grimaced, baring his teeth in either pain or irritation. "I wasn't expecting him to know something like that."

"You underestimated him."

"A little." Levi tilted his head to the side, and Eld heard a crack in his neck. "And I think I may have a concussion."

"Why do you think that?"

"I'm starting to like the kid."

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: I would've loved to see something like this in the series. Or at least Levi fighting human Annie.

Shingeki no Kyojin is owned by Hajimi Isayama.


	13. Petra - Blood

_Blood_

Her father hadn't carried her up to bed since she was a little girl, she thought as she smiled in her sleep. She'd forgotten how warm and safe she'd felt, warm and safe, cradled safely in his arms, her head nestled against a broad shoulder where she could hear his heartbeat. It was such a calming sound. She wondered where had she fallen asleep this time? Had she been curled up in front of the fireplace? Her mother never let her sleep there unless she was sick, but she loved feeling the soothing warmth of the hearthstones beneath her makeshift bed, almost as much as her father's warm embrace. No matter where she fell asleep the night before, her father would always find her and tuck her into her own bed. And she loved their little game, even pretending to be asleep when he lifted her up.

Something wasn't right, though.

Petra frowned. She hadn't spoken to her father in months, never mind she was all grown up now and he would've never been able to carry her like this. She couldn't hear her mother's playful whispers telling her what a naughty girl she was. The floorboards and steps of the old house weren't creaking. And what on earth was that awful smell? It was overwhelming, heavy and fetid, like the air in a butcher's shop. She forced her eyes open, and closed them immediately to block the sun in her eyes. _Where am I?_

"Hey." A gentle voice asked. "Are you coming around?"

And she saw the man carrying her was not her father.

"Gunther?" Petra gasped, lifting her head off his shoulder and staring at him in shock. "You're covered in blood! Are you all right?"

"What? Oh, right!" He grimaced. "Yeah, I'm all right. It's not my blood. It's not yours either."

"Then whose…." Then she remembered Captain Addario leading them into the Forest of Giant Trees, shouting orders to stay alert and-and he'd never finished his commands. A titan had stepped into their path. It was a female, a rare type hardly ever seen by humans. She was tall, at least fourteen meters, with an emaciated build, long and stringy black hair that reached her waist, and a grin that nearly split her head in two. She turned to them and took a step, green eyes gleaming in ecstasy.

Arrow reared at the sight of her, screaming in terror, eyes rolling. Then as soon as his forehooves touched the earth, he bucked and kicked until he'd rid himself of his rider and fled, galloping through the trees and disappearing instantly. Petra had gotten up and run, despite her bruises. Nothing was broken, but even so, her left leg protested violently, shooting waves of pain from her knee to her hip. She heard the yells of her comrades as she released both grapples of her gear and flew into the tree tops. Then she saw Arrow was not the only horse who'd spooked. Another one had thrown its rider, Desi Rivera, while a third Scout, Filip Aakster, was trying frantically to bring his back under control.

She watched the titaness stoop, extending a greedy hand for Rivera, her ecstatic green eyes stretching even wider. Then Petra leaped, releasing one grapple and cursing when she missed the giant's neck and hit the shoulder instead. The titaness took no notice, but her stranded comrade glanced up at her, face stricken with terror, but he had enough wit left in him to use his gear and propel himself to safety. Aakster did the same, abandoning his horse, and soared into the treetops. Petra remembered the sense of vertigo she'd felt as she swung around the titaness, the momentum carrying her above and past her neck. Her cable was too long, and the arc she made was too wide. Her grapple dislodged and the titaness grinned at her.

A black flare shooting into the sky heralded the approach of two more squadmates, Achille Cornett and Gilbert Kahler. They flew past their enemy, but only Kahler made it safely into the trees. The titaness swatted Cornett, closing her fist around his head and torso. Petra felt sick as she saw his limp legs dangling before he was crushed into the titaness' mouth.

"You bitch!" Rivera had screamed as she licked her lips and set her sights on the rest of them.

Kahler led the attack then, firing a grapple straight for her face and ordering them to carve out her nape while he took her eyes. Rivera and Petra followed, her comrade racing forward in an attempt to take her neck as he passed while Petra made for one of the trees behind her. If she judged the trajectory right this time, she could ricochet off the trunk and head for the nape from directly behind. She glimpsed Kahler leaping away, shouting it was up to them now. Rivera made a cut, but it was too shallow. The titaness snarled in anger and whirled around.

"Watch out!" Kahler cried, but the monster lunged after their comrade. Two steps and her head jolted forward like a hen snatching a bug out of the air. Rivera died instantly, then Petra saw a wall a ghastly pale flesh closing around her. She grit her teeth and cleaved a blade through the titaness' palm, yet the fingers still closed around her. She remembered the steaming hot blood burning her skin as she struggled frantically against the giant's grip as it held her over a massive pair of parting white teeth.

Petra blinked. _I died, right? Didn't I? If I didn't, then_-And she remembered that horrifying blackness, the suffocating heat, and the broken and incomplete bodies of her comrades, Cornett and Rivera and countless others, floating and half-submerged in the thick, red blood. Their eyes stared at her, still frozen in shock and fear from their imminent despise.

Then she realized the fetid stench was coming from her own blood-soaked body.

Gunther clapped a hand over her mouth as she screamed, almost silencing her completely. "Shh! We're still in the field! A titan may hear you!" She shut up, though her breathing came in terrified, desperate gasps. "Calm down. Everything's all right. You're not injured, you're still in one piece. Count yourself lucky that monster wasn't one for chewing. It swallowed you whole."

_God, oh, God! I was eaten! A titan ate me! I should be dead, I should be dead, I should be dead! How? How did I survive? My god! _She bit her lip, hoping to keep herself from screaming, but she tasted titan blood (or was it human blood?) and spat it out. "Put me down, Gunther, I'm going to be sick!" He did and she crawled half a meter before vomiting violently into the grass. Her braid fell over her shoulder, so thick and heavy with blood and saliva it resembled the intestines of a deer her father had hunted for their family. Just thinking about it made her throw up again, and she hunched over herself, clutching her stomach and squeezing her eyes shut until she felt tears.

Someone, she assumed it was Gunther, knelt beside her and rubbed his hand between her shoulders, despite her uniform was completely drenched. "It's over, don't worry. It's okay, Pet. You're gonna be okay." She couldn't stop shaking. Then something twisted in her stomach and she tried retching again, but nothing came up. Gunther sat her up on the grass some distance away from the puddle of bile she'd made, and she saw there were other Scouts around them, all watching her. Captain Addario and his second-in-command, Cyril Holmwood, were there, along with the Abbing twins, Donati, Jansen, and a few others from their regiment. Kahler was there as well, but Aaskter was not.

She was supposed to be dead, she thought, staring at the ground and shaking uncontrollably. How had she survived? She'd been eaten. Devoured. That should've been the end of her life. Why hadn't she died with Rivera and Cornett? She thought back to the titaness closing her mouth and the slimy walls of that rancid tunnel constricting around her as the demon swallowed. Landing in that pool, frantically kicking her arms and legs to keep her head above the blood, drowning.

Her stomach heaved and she trembled. Gunther shouted for a medic, but his voice sounded so far away. Shadows appeared in the corners of her vision and began to close in around her, until the world went black and she slumped against the earth.

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: There will probably be other one-shots later explaining how she survived and how she recovered from the psychological effects of this ordeal.

Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan is owned by Hajime Isayama.


	14. Gunther - Contrition

_Contrition_

A letter came for me in the mail today, dated July 30, 846, sent by my mother in Karanes. The envelope was stained somewhat and the address a little blurred, not doubt it had gotten a little damp on its journey to Trost. Petra had come back from her shopping trip ecstatic about a bag of potatoes she'd haggled a low price for and crying she was going to make potato pancakes for everyone. Oruo and Eld begged her, for the love of Sina, not to, but she insisted, scolding them both for their lack of faith in her. That's when I noticed the envelope poking out of her bag and glimpsed the first few letters of my name.

Pinching it between my hands, I pulled it out and saw the name of the sender. Petra saw and sobered up, saying she'd picked it up at the post that day. I thanked her, then sat back in my chair. The envelope was thick, at least three pages, plus an object I could identify without looking. I smoothed turned it over and over in my hands, smoothed my thumb over the address and stamp, picked at the wax seal, but couldn't bring myself to open it.

Petra had resumed her argument, now threatening her comrades with a potato. Oruo ruffled her hair, teasing her about all her failed attempts at curry, bread, and pasta. She slaps his hand away, retorting it's the effort that counts. Tell that to my stomach, Eld points out, patting his middle. It bears a grudge against her, according to him.

I try to laugh, but the sound doesn't it make it past my throat and my eyes keep drifting to Mother's letter. I set it down on the table, pick it up again, pick at the seal, think about cramming it in my pocket. Or setting it alight in the fireplace. I know I shouldn't. It's wrong to throw it away without looking at it.

But I can't take my mother's pleas. She writes without Father's knowledge, sneaking parchment and ink past him while he sleeps. I haven't spoken to them in years. Not since I sent them word of my enlisting in the Survey Corps. My father sent me a brief note weeks later, consisting of one sentence that made my eyes sting. I grit my teeth at the memory.

Levi glances across the table at me, frowns, then looks the other way, pretending he didn't see anything. I take a breath and broke the seal, but it was a few minutes more before I removed the four pieces of parchment, covered in Mother's familiar but tiny handwriting.

_My dear son…._

She wishes me a happy birthday straightaway, hoping I had a good one. Then I take my time, slowly taking in her report of herself and the home I grew up in. No mention of Father, just a long, cheerful account of the neighbors I'd grown up with, my old classmates, our lazy old dog. Frau Engel's garden was thriving this year, Liana was pregnant with her second child now, and Old Samson was enjoying the last of the summer days happily sprawled out on our porch. She tells me all about her knitting and the embroidered, lace gloves she makes for the wealthy ladies in the Interior. Yarn is becoming harder to find, and the price won't stop rising.

I can picture her smiling as she recounts stories from my childhood: How I used to sit and read to her while she worked, the time at school I shared my meager lunch with two brothers who'd forgotten theirs, when I rescued a baby bird and climbed back up to its nest to bring it home. Such a good, kind boy I was, she tells me, and I almost smile.

Autumn's fast approaching, she writes, and she can feel the chill in her bones, so she keeps close to the hearth now. Warming her old hands so they don't stiffen up, she says. I swallow. She talks about the weather, asks if I'll come home this winter, wonders if I have plenty of warm clothes for autumn. Do I need more? Would I like more? She'll even send some scarves and mittens to the friends I've made if would they'd like. She hears the harvest this year hasn't been particularly prosperous and predicts another harsh winter ahead.

My head shoots up as I hear Petra shriek, and she punches Oruo in the gut, screaming something about her kill count. Eld moves in to break up the fight, but Levi ignores the whole thing and rummages around in the bag our female comrade brought back. My eyes go back to the letter.

It breaks her heart to see children suffer, so she's been sending extra money to the refugee settlements when she can, as well as hats and scarves, and some homemade bread when she can spare it. Other times, she pays a visit in person. She listens to the stories of the orphaned children, the widows, the widowers, the broken souls who've lost everyone, and she prays for each and everyone of them. She's led prayer circles with the survivors, too, and I can imagine her standing amongst the tattered and ragged Wall Marians. Her serene face and peaceful voice bringing them some level of comfort.

She asks if I've been following God. A lump forms in my throat, but I continue. It saddened her greatly when I left to fight the titans, though she calls them Nephilim. The monstrous children of human women and angels, giants who devoured humanity when humanity could no longer feed them. I take this moment to empty the envelope completely, dumping her cherished rosary in my hand. My fingers clench around the painted beads and silver cross. Every time she hears of an expedition's departure, she prays for my safety, she says. Mine and my comrades.

Then she moves on to the local news at home, avoiding a subject I know she'll reach eventually. It's old news mostly, the gossip she hears from the market and her church group. The same, boring scandal revolving around the Earl of Karanes and one of his MP guards, male or female isn't specified. A Garrison man caught smuggling illegal goods. The peculiar death of an arms dealer the MPs are treating as a suicide.

Eld has Petra and Oruo calmed down now, though one wrong word would probably have them at it again with the way they're glaring at each other. Our resident peacemaker presses a potato into Petra's hands, grinning and offering to help prepare them. She scowls at Oruo but agrees, dumping her bag across the table. There's a few other items the others had requested: rolled up newspaper, loaf of bread, soap, tea, other necessities. Levi's inspecting the soap, sniffing at it with a dubious expression and sending Petra a baleful look. She tells him to stick it, which makes the other two laugh.

I try to laugh again, too, but I can't and resume reading my letter. It's about Father now, and how he refuses to speak of me. There is nothing to remember me by in the house any longer, she writes. I took most of my belongings with me, the ones I left behind were locked away in the cellar my old room is as bare as a barren tree in winter, and the family portrait has been turned to the wall.

She's begging me to come home now, and there are small, dark dots in the paper where her tears fell. To make amends with the old geezer and ask his forgiveness. Give up the life I left them for and take care of the family business like I was meant to. The Nephilim are wicked, let God strike them down and deliver us, don't involve myself any longer. My hands clench, then I bunch the paper up and throw it away.

The others look at me, shocked. I stand and turn to leave. I've always respected Mother's beliefs. How could I not? They used to be mine. And in some way, they still are: after all, I can't explain the titans. For all I know, they could be the abominable children of men and angels. But no amount of praying will rid our world them. If kneeling with our hands folded would vanquish our enemy, then there would have been no need for the Walls to begin with.

There would have been no need for the countless sacrifices we've had to make, no reason for my friends to die, if some higher power was capable of annihilating those monsters.

Someone calls after me as I step outside, but I don't answer. The sun's setting, dyeing the sky a burnt orange hue, and a few specks of light can be seen in the darkening east. The porch steps creak in protest as I step down, making my way across the grass. I don't know where I'm going. Maybe I should have thought of that before I stormed out.

She means well, I know. I am her only child, and she's concerned. It broke her heart when I left, and even more when my Wallist father cast me out, calling me ungrateful, reckless, and irresponsible. A heretic. I realize the rosary is still in my hand hurl it to the ground in a fit of anger, only to realize my childish behavior and pick it up again. No harm was done. It's only dusty now. I shouldn't have thrown it like that. For as long as I can remember, Mother has always carried this with her. It is her special treasure, passed down through her family since before the Walls.

To send it to me….

My jaw tightens and my eyes begin to sting.

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: The idea that Gunther comes from a Christian home came out of nowhere. I don't know if Christianity even survived in the Walls. I assume the Wallists are related (closely or distantly) to it since the priests state several times the Walls were a gift from God.

As for the Nephilim, I'm trying to show a variety of culture. Kinda like the difference between dragon and wyrm; they're the same thing, just a different name for it. The basic description of the Christian Nephilim is they are vicious, man-eating giants.

Also, if this one seemed to end abruptly, I'm considering this a Part 1 and will be continuing at a later time.

And since I can't reply through a PM, thank you for reading, Kitty. I hope to continue this series for a long as I can.

Hajime Isayama owns Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin.


	15. Gunther - RATional

_**Rat**__ional_

"How long have we been sitting up here?"

Levi cast him a murderous look before craning his neck to look below. "Can you see it anywhere?"

"No." Gunther grumbled, sighing in frustration. "You know, Captain, there comes a point where this becomes ridiculous. We're grown men. Something like this is nothing compared to-wait, rats can't climb table legs, can they?"

The look his superior sent him was somewhere between moderately disturbed and sheer terror, but he took a deep breath. "Rats, second to titans, are the most vile creatures to walk this earth. They steal food, they spread disease, have been known to eat people alive, plus some pre-Wall cultures incorporated them into specific torture devices. They're unwanted, parasitic pests that run rampant wherever they damn well please, especially in the Underground. This is a perfectly legitimate fear."

"No, we're past fear at this point, Levi. We're looking at a phobia." Gunther gave a strained smile. "I find it hard to believe a man who's single-handed faced four titans at once would be frightened of a little rodent."

"_Little?_ Didn't you see the size of that thing?" Levi demanded. "And who are you to talk? I said _stomp_ on it, not climb up here with me."

"Sorry, I missed the the rat stomping class when I was a cadet." Gunther snapped back. It wasn't as though he was afraid of mice or rats or anything; he just had an extremely vivid imagination. And right now, that imagination was sending him visions of a big, black rodent scuttling up the inside of his trousers if he so much as put one _toe_ on the ground. He shuddered, gripping the broom in both hands until his knuckles turned white.

They'd been sitting back to back for almost a quarter hour now, occasionally peering over the side of the table to see if they could catch a glimpse of their tormentor. Well, Levi had been here longer than that, having been crouched on the tabletop when Gunther found him watching the floors like a falcon with a skillet in one hand and a dustpan in the other. He'd asked him what the hell he was doing, but then a massive black rat darted across the floor and the question answered itself, and he found himself up here shortly thereafter.

"So what's your story with rats?" Gunther asked. "I'm guessing there's a specific reason you don't like them."

Levi looked back at him. "You mean the fact they're filthy and _everywhere_ isn't reason enough to hate them? Don't forget, when you see one, it means they're are fifty more hiding somewhere. Sina, who maintains the Scouting Headquarters? I'm gonna kill them. Hang on, I think I hear it." Without another word, the older man shifted into a crouch, fixing a glare on the floor.

Okay, so he wasn't in the mood to give him a straight answer this time. Gunther sighed and peered over the edge of the table in the same direction he'd heard the scratching noise. "Think it's in one of the cupboards?"

"There'll be hell to pay if it is. Shitting on all the pans I just scrubbed…."

"Is that all you're mad about?"

The kitchen door opened suddenly behind them. "What are you guys doing?" Eld asked. His face was frozen in that hesitant almost-smile he often wore when he was unaware of a situation and whether or not laughter was appropriate.

Levi didn't grace him with an answer, far too intent on annihilating the little vermin once and for all. "Shut the door."

Eld frowned at the request, but he obeyed, closing the door with a firm 'click' behind him before mouthing, _What's going on?_ Gunther put a finger to his lips, sending him a warning glance, then raised the broom above his head. The scratching noises had stopped again but judging from Levi's face, he guess he'd pinpointed the rat's location. Slowly, the smaller man slipped silently into a chair, then onto the floor, lithe as a prowling cat. Gunther shared a glance with Eld, then jumped as Levi backtracked across the floor suddenly an scrambled back onto the table. Almost simultaneously, a knife appeared hilt-deep in the floorboards, missing its target.

"Damn!"

"Eld, look out!" Gunther shouted, catching sight of the rodent. "It's headed right for you!"

The blond man's eyes darted around the room, confused at first, then startled as he caught sight of the animal making its way across the floor. "Wha-aww!" Gunther stiffened as his friend and comrade leaned down and snatched the rat off the floor, holding it in both hands and expertly avoiding its biting teeth. "Look at him. He's precious." Eld cooed. "I used to keep a whole bunch of these little guys as pets when I was a boy."

"Could've gone my whole life without knowing that, Eld." Levi snarled, making a move to get down, then thought better of it and stayed put. "That's disgusting. Hurry up and kill it already."

Eld ignored the command. "Actually, despite their reputation, Levi, rats are very clean little critters. They're constantly grooming themselves when they aren't scavenging."

"Or gnawing your skin off or breeding more of the little bastards." Gunther added sourly.

"Did you hear what he called you?" Eld murmured to his new friend. "He called you a bastard! What bad manners! I shall call you Cornelius the Third."

"The Third?" Gunther frowned.

"Ignore him." Eld told the rat, clearly doing the same to his fellow humans as he turned to head back into the hallway. "I'll set you free outside. There's lots of space to run around out there."

As soon as he was gone, Levi jumped down from the table again, moodily ripping his knife out of the floor and muttering about how unnatural that display was. Gunther shook his head and stepped down, too. "To each their own. It's hypocritical to think someone else's eccentricities-"

"Whoops, I dropped him!"

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: Slow update. I'm sorry. I had a more serious one in mind next, but I noticed that seemed to be the trend, so I decided to throw in this more comedic one instead. Hope you liked it.

Hajime Isayama owns Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin.


End file.
